I have no qualms about going out to the internet and ordering online, done it many times. What is the name a good quality men's dress shirt brand? I will seek them out online and hopefully they will have a web site or a re-seller that will sell them online.

If you are looking for something mid-priced but a good value, but Charles Tyrwhitt (ctshirts.com) and TM Lewin (tmlewin.com) are forum favorites. They both ship from England though, so you will have a bit of a wait on your hands. If you are anywhere near NYC or Washington, DC, you can stop in a Charles Tyrwhitt store to at least find out your size.

Brooks Brothers are also nice, but they are more expensive than the above brands and have a more limited color/style selection, especially in the extra-slim fit range.

Thanks for the info. There is a Charles Tyrwhitt store no more than two or three blocks from my office, I go by there on my to and from the office every day and I have never noticed it. I am not ready to buy as yet however I will stop by and take a look at what they have and keep them in mind for when I do need to buy. Yes I do have a Brooks Brothers store in town although I have never bought there I have been by there many times, like Tyrwhitt I will keep them in mind for the next time that I need to buy. I previously thought that the cheaper the clothing the better, however recent experience in dress shoes has taught me that is never the case.

How long does a suit usually last? Let's say I have ten and rotate them so that I wear them once every two weeks and take care of them by not taking them to dry cleaners, combing them, and try to hang them as soon as I get in the office? I am talking about $2,000 plus suits...errr...tier 1 or 2 suits per the suit hierarchy thread.

No real way to answer that. You're talking about taking good care of your suits, and wearing each of them maybe 25 times per year. My guess is that they'll last anywhere from a few years to a few decades.

The fact that they're $2000 suits or high quality suits or what have you, isn't all that relevant. If a high quality $2000 suit is made from "ultra-luxurious S150s wool," as is entirely possible, and a more moderate quality $500 suit is made from S110s wool, it could well be that the $500 suit will outlast the $2000 one, since one characteristic of lower S-grades is that they are often more durable than higher ones.

High snug does the suit fit? How much do you perspire? What's the local climate like? How good is your dry cleaner (and you will take it in for dry cleaning once in a while)? What are storage conditions like? How active are you when wearing the suit? Do you lean your elbows on the edge of your desk, while wearing your suit jacket? Do your thighs rub against each other more or less than "normal" when you walk? How abrasive is the seat in your car - rough fabric, or smooth leather, or what? Do you have a tendency to get food on your suit, or to spill liquids on it? And a host of other factors contribute to the difficulty of telling you just how long your suit will last.

For that matter, suits don't fail all at once. It's not like your suit will remain in perfect, pristine shape, until one day it suddenly falls apart on you. No, wear occurs gradually. And one man's "somewhat worn, but still highly serviceable" suit, will be the next man's "too worn to wear" suit. Which makes it even harder to predict your suit's life expectancy.

As somewhat of an aside, it occurs to me that a man who is contemplating buying himself ten $2000 suits probably has some history of wearing suits. So, how long have most of his previous suits lasted before they began showing unacceptable wear?

No real way to answer that. You're talking about taking good care of your suits, and wearing each of them maybe 25 times per year. My guess is that they'll last anywhere from a few years to a few decades.

The fact that they're $2000 suits or high quality suits or what have you, isn't all that relevant. If a high quality $2000 suit is made from "ultra-luxurious S150s wool," as is entirely possible, and a more moderate quality $500 suit is made from S110s wool, it could well be that the $500 suit will outlast the $2000 one, since one characteristic of lower S-grades is that they are often more durable than higher ones.

High snug does the suit fit? The suit fits well and is not super slim fit. How much do you perspire? Not much. I drink about 160 oz of cold water thruout the day and usually take my jacket off and hang them when I am at the office. What's the local climate like? I live in DC metro. Normal seasonal weather. How good is your dry cleaner (and you will take it in for dry cleaning once in a while)? I have phobia about taking my suits to the cleaners and will probably not do so unless something really bad happens (someone vomits?). I steam them. What are storage conditions like? I have a big walk in closet and have jackets and pants spaced apart and have bug deterrents in the closet. My jackets are hung on decent hangers and my pants are hung up-side-down. How active are you when wearing the suit? I try to avoid wearing nice suits when I have to do something active. Do you lean your elbows on the edge of your desk, while wearing your suit jacket? I take my jacket off when I get into my office. Do your thighs rub against each other more or less than "normal" when you walk? I don't have thick theighs. How abrasive is the seat in your car - rough fabric, or smooth leather, or what? I have leather seats. Do you have a tendency to get food on your suit, or to spill liquids on it? Oh helz no! And a host of other factors contribute to the difficulty of telling you just how long your suit will last.

For that matter, suits don't fail all at once. It's not like your suit will remain in perfect, pristine shape, until one day it suddenly falls apart on you. No, wear occurs gradually. And one man's "somewhat worn, but still highly serviceable" suit, will be the next man's "too worn to wear" suit. Which makes it even harder to predict your suit's life expectancy.

As somewhat of an aside, it occurs to me that a man who is contemplating buying himself ten $2000 suits probably has some history of wearing suits. So, how long have most of his previous suits lasted before they began showing unacceptable wear?

Too many questions to answer but I answered them all even though they were all rhetorical questions. LOL

I think the best way is for me to just see if I can wear them for 20 years since all my suits are less than 1 year old.

Some of Lands' End's shirts are okay, and often priced quite attractively, particularly when on sale (as happens frequently) and with a coupon (also frequently available) applied.

The core of my shirt wardrobe consists of Brooks shirts. They don't run sales as often as does LE, but they do runs sales now and then. Still somewhat more expensive than Lands' End, but of somewhat better quality. (I'm talking about actual Brooks Bros. shirts, and not the 346 line, which which I have no experience.)

I own a few Jos. A. Bank shirts. Not many. They're okay, though. One came with the pocket way too low, but it was only that one. Go figure. Naturally, they make more sense to buy during one of JAB's frequent sales, than at their extremely inflated "normal" price.

I have a couple of Charles Tyrwitt shirts. Again, they're okay. I bought them out of curiosity, when (as is so often the case) CT had their $130 shirts on sale for $39.50. Not the place to go shopping for buttondown collar shirts (which are really more of an American thing, than an English thing, after all), but a nice selection in point collar and spread collar styles.

I don't own any MTM or bespoke shirts, as OTR shirts tend to fit me pretty well. At most, I might need minor alterations, but usually not even that. But bear in mind, I prefer fuller, more traditional fitting dress shirts. Someone who prefers close-fitting clothing might well have more need of alterations than I do.

Either way, I strongly prefer 100% cotton, to cotton/poly blends. I have a slight preference for the traditional "must iron" shirt, over "non-iron" shirts, although these days most shirts seem to be of the non-iron variety. Non-iron has gotten much better over the years, such that the better ones really aren't bad, despite what some people would have you believe.

And unless you wash and iron all of your shirts at home (not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that, and I can wield an iron quite adequately, thank you very much), the quality of your cleaners will make or break the quality of your shirts. A great shirt can easily turn into garbage, if laundered at a place that uses old and/or contaminated cleaning solution, or that presses in wrinkles, or that just does a lousy job. And since most people care far more about price and rapid turn around time, than about quality results, the majority of cleaners tend not to do all that good a job.

Hey everyone; first time poster and new to SF, so go easy. I just bought my first suit for a couple weddings this year(all informal events). It's a great light navy almost grayish color which I think will be pretty versatile. I included a picture of the suit, which was on display with a pair of nice tan shoes that seemed to really compliment the suit color. I ended up buying a pair of tan Cole Haan Air Madisons(second link) and figured this color would be pretty close to the ones on display(whose style I don't like).

Then I looked up pairing navy suits with tan shoes and it seems about half are convinced it can be a very sharp look and half are convinced it's breaking all the style rules. What do you guys think of this combination?

I'm not very flashy with my clothes, but these shoes with a suit this light in color were such a great combo - do they break the "shoes need to be darker than the suit" rule? The suit is a little lighter than the picture shows and it seems that the shoes will be a little darker than it. Also, what tie/shirt combination would go well with these(I was kind of partial to a checked shirt combined with the blue tie in the picture). I've also heard that I shouldn't pair these shoes with a belt of the same color; what's the opinions on this? Can I go beltless if the pants are tailored to fit very well or do I need to use braces/suspenders?

I ended up buying a pair of tan Cole Haan Air Madisons(second link) and figured this color would be pretty close to the ones on display(whose style I don't like).

Nothing personal against you but my experience with Cole Haans is this: they suck. I bought one pair with leather/rubber soles and started freaking leaking. I was told they shouldn't leak and was also told not to jump around in puddle of water by the sales associate. B@$tard! Then it gave me freaking callouse at the ball of my foot. How do I know it isn't me and the shoe? The callouse stopped building up and eventually disappeared once I switched to Ballys and other makers. Bottom line is Cole Haans are overpriced p.o.s. that should not even be considered. That's my two cents. Sorry, I just really hate Cole Haans.
You're fine with brown shoes as long as ur suit is not black. Dare to be bold.

Then I looked up pairing navy suits with tan shoes and it seems about half are convinced it can be a very sharp look and half are convinced it's breaking all the style rules. What do you guys think of this combination?

I'm not very flashy with my clothes, but these shoes with a suit this light in color were such a great combo - do they break the "shoes need to be darker than the suit" rule? The suit is a little lighter than the picture shows and it seems that the shoes will be a little darker than it. Also, what tie/shirt combination would go well with these(I was kind of partial to a checked shirt combined with the blue tie in the picture). I've also heard that I shouldn't pair these shoes with a belt of the same color; what's the opinions on this? Can I go beltless if the pants are tailored to fit very well or do I need to use braces/suspenders?
I wud go beltless only if they have no belt loops.

It's a great light navy almost grayish color which I think will be pretty versatile.
...
Then I looked up pairing navy suits with tan shoes and it seems about half are convinced it can be a very sharp look and half are convinced it's breaking all the style rules. What do you guys think of this combination?

It's a look. If it appeals to you, fine. Maybe it's not the most conservative look, however no law says you must embrace only the most conservative look.

But for wearing in the evening, I'd strongly prefer darker shoes, over tan shoes. And since you mention "versatility," I'd say this is a versatility consideration, as well.

I think the best way is for me to just see if I can wear them for 20 years since all my suits are less than 1 year old.

Bear in mind, even if the suits last for 20 years, it's possible your measurements will change over that period of time.

Even men who take care of themselves and pay attention to diet and exercise, can see changes in their body shape over the years. And all it takes is an inch here and an inch there to change the look of a formerly great-fitting suit to... something other than great.

Then I looked up pairing navy suits with tan shoes and it seems about half are convinced it can be a very sharp look and half are convinced it's breaking all the style rules. What do you guys think of this combination?

A question of ethics: A local Marshalls/Winners is selling a Brooks Brothers jacket, which a certain member is currently listing in the B&S forum with a 150% markup. Due to several identifying marks, I am absolutely sure this is the exact jacket currently hanging on the rack. Should I call him out?

A question of ethics: A local Marshalls/Winners is selling a Brooks Brothers jacket, which a certain member is currently listing in the B&S forum with a 150% markup. Due to several identifying marks, I am absolutely sure this is the exact jacket currently hanging on the rack. Should I call him out?

My gut says no. People can charge whatever they want for their items. Hence why loads of people make big money selling not very good stuff that just happens to catch on as trendy or cool. I would leave the man to be and pray no one is dumb enough to fall for his tricks, or if they are that tj
hey have the coin to waste.
Just my $0.02.